CHATHAM – Allegation of conflict of interest were leveled last week against a member of the historical commission who is proposing to demolish an 80-year-old home on Stage Harbor Road.
Neighbors of 372 Stage Harbor Rd. said commission member Tim Smith was present at a Dec. 29 on-site hearing at the house and was actively advising the current homeowner while members of the commission inspected the 944-square-fo...

CHATHAM – A sculpture of the Tree of Life, a gift to the town by the Women's Club of Chatham to mark the organization's centennial, was dedicated before a cold but appreciative crowd Sunday afternoon.
The steel sculpture, by local artist Faye Anderson, hangs on the wall of the Eldredge Public Library to the left of the Library Lane entrance.
“This is a big milestone for us,” club president Lorraine Cocolis ...

CHATHAM — With federal regulators now firmly in their corner, selectmen are vowing to come out swinging when a suit brought by skydiving opponents goes to trial in March.
Saying they were acting in the benefit of public transparency, the board issued a statement announcing its position following an hour-long closed-door session Monday evening.
The town has been in litigation over the issue of skydiving fo...

CHATHAM — Saying the costs simply don’t justify the benefits, selectmen Monday voted to wait until the May annual town election to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of board member Amanda Love, rather than calling a special election.
“There’s a potential cost of at least $6,000 to hold a special election,” board Chairman Cory Metters said. And according to the town clerk, the earliest a special ele...

CHATHAM – About a dozen years ago, author Bernard Cornwell was asked by Monomoy Theatre Artistic Director Alan Rust to give a talk to the company on the background of Shakespeare's “Henry V.” Cornwell hadn't yet written his historical novel “Azincourt,” but knew enough about the 1415 campaign to give an authoritative presentation. Rust was impressed.
“It was really quite stunning,” he said of that talk. Not lo...

CHATHAM — When Penny Haughwout sat down at her computer table to do some work Thursday morning, she noticed nothing out of the ordinary outside her condo on Starfish Lane. Her low-lying neighborhood, Little Beach, routinely gets puddles during heavy rains, and the field opposite her window becomes an impromptu duck pond. When she happened to glance up at around 11:30 a.m., she saw trouble.
“When I looked up,...

CHATHAM – For the second time this year, a nation-wide bank is closing a local office.
The Bank of America financial center at 168 Old Harbor Rd. will close March 27. The bank's ATM kiosk at 908 Main St. will remain open. Employees at the branch will be transferred to the bank's Orleans office.
A handout given to bank customers directs them to locations in South Dennis and Orleans.
“We constantly adapt o...

CHATHAM – There are very few local residents who didn't benefit from Carl Olson's passion for chowder. The town's self-proclaimed “Chowdahman” stopped counting the number of servings of his creamy concoction he gave away at more than 7,000.
A Chatham High School graduate, long-time teacher and real estate broker, Mr. Olson passed away Dec. 31.
Friends and colleagues remembered Mr. Olson for his sense of hum...

CHATHAM – The Shoe Salon, an iconic business that has been a familiar presence on Main Street for over a half century, will close its doors this Friday after a sale offering discounts of 80 percent and more on merchandise and on all store fixtures including chairs, clothing racks and lights.
“It’s a sad time for everybody,” says manager Patty Garber of Eastham, who has worked at the store at 521 Main St. for 1...

CHATHAM – Town meeting voters will address two measures aimed at prohibiting the retail sale of recreational marijuana in town.
Selectmen voted last Tuesday to endorse general and zoning bylaws banning retail pot sales and to place them on the warrant for the May meeting. The vote was not unanimous, however. Selectman Shareen Davis voted to oppose the general bylaw because she thought it was too broadly worded...